Repentance (Lamentations 1:1-15)

Repentance (Lamentation 1:1-15)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations+1

The opening verses of this song of lament present the theme that will continue throughout:  God’s judgment has come upon Jerusalem and the Israelites because of their sin.  As such it is not only a lament, a song describing the sorry state of the people and their ruined city.  It is also a confession of sin, of guilt.  It is not only lament for the destruction that came upon them, it is a lament for the sin that brought it about.  It is a song of repentance.

A key feature of that repentance is acknowledging that they weren’t merely victims of circumstance. They were not just the hapless little nation crushed by a mighty imperialistic empire.  It was the Lord who brought this about.  Babylon was just a tool.  It was the Lord’s judgment on their sin that resulted in their lamentable state.

Repentance for sin means acknowledging not only the reality of the sin, but also the rightness of the resulting verdict and sentence.  God was right to hold them accountable for their sin, their idolatry.  And God is certainly right to bring judgment upon them because of it.

Repentance is the necessary precursor to faith and the receiving of forgiveness.  If we do not acknowledge that we deserve judgment and death for our sin, we will not look at the cross as the place where that judgment and death were carried out.   The cross is both law and gospel.  It shows the horrible penalty for my sin.  It displays the depth of what I deserve for my idolatry and unfaithfulness.  But it also displays the love of God for me, in His gracious willingness to bear that penalty for me.

So in my prayer today, I’m spending a bit more time on repentance, confessing my sin, and confessing the rightness of God’s judgment on that sin. But I am also praying in thankfulness for such grace that would send a Savior to take that judgment for me.  All glory be to Him!

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here